I am very very sorry for the two month hiatus I guess you could say, I've had a lot going, I still have a lot going on, but I hope to be able to update this more because I've been on a bit of a Reddie phase if you will XD XD.
I know it's a bit rushed but honestly when my brother was in the hospital it's like life was kinda rushed so lmao. Y'all got any weird stories or weird phrases Richie could say while doped up on meds once he's off the ventilator?
P.S. How y'all like that ending? I didn't know how to end it so there you go XD
The group of three passed Went on their way to Richie's room, and he stopped to talk to them, grinning at the balloons and giant stuffed bear they all pitched in to get him. They'd also got him a card that everyone signed.
"He looks bad- which you saw in the picture last night, but he's awake and his spirits are up, all things considered. Just don't mention Christmas- it'll upset him." Went told them.
"Okay." They agreed. Went gave them a smile.
"I'll be back a little later." They nodded and continued on their way. They looked at each other as Stan knocked on the door- and opened it.
"Fuck." Eddie whispered upon seeing him. He did look bad, and he looked exhausted- but it didn't stop the smile that popped up on his face when he saw them.
"Hey guys." Maggie greeted, using a small sponge to drip water into Richie's dry mouth. She chuckled when his eyes crossed as the water went into his mouth.
"You look horrible." Stan deadpanned. Richie stared at him for a second, not caring about the water dripping out of his mouth. He lifted a hand up and flipped him the bird. Stan chuckled. The group moved closer to him, Bev standing next to Maggie and the boys on the other side. Richie picked up his pen and wrote something on the notepad, holding it up for him to see.
F U bird boy
"Nah, I'm good." Richie narrowed his eyes at him. They softened as they moved to Eddie, and then onto Bev, who had started crying. She was hugging the stuffed bear tightly. Richie dropped the notepad immediately and reached for her, making grabby hands at her. He was very annoyed that he couldn't talk, but at least he wasn't like, dead, right? But he couldn't comfort his best friend like he wanted to. His brows furrowed when she looked at him.
"Don't look at me like that. You almost died Richie!" she cried, dropping the bear and grabbing his good hand, practically kneeling by the bed, resting her forehead on his wrist. He squeezed her hand tightly and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stop the newly forming tears from falling. He shook her hand until she looked up at her, and gave her his best smile, though, considering there was a tube down his throat, wasn't his best. But he tried, and it got her to smile a little. Stan and Eddie too.
"Bev, do you still have his phone?" Maggie asked. Bev stood up and let go with one hand, taking it out of her back pocket. "He asked me if I had it." Bev nodded and handed the phone to Richie. He gave her an apologetic look and let go of her hand, using both of his to unlock his phone and go to an app. He typed for a couple minutes, pressed a button, and a robotic voice filled the room,
"Doctor said I'll be okay. I feel okay. Awesome scar, hell yes."
The group couldn't help but laugh at the fact that he used google translate of all things to talk. "Ha ha ha ha ha ha." they laughed harder at that.
"You're so silly." Maggie said, brushing a few curls out of his face.
"Stop crying before I cry." Richie "said"
"You're already crying, dip shit." Eddie rolled his eyes. Richie looked at him and made a face. He typed something on his phone and instead of pressing play, he just handed the phone to Eddie.
Did i like come out to you and we kissed or am i that fucked up
"You did, and yes." Eddie told him, a light blush creeping up his neck. The same happened to Richie, but it was much more obvious.
"Oh, what just happened here?" Maggie asked, eyebrow raised.
"Nothing!" Richie typed immediately. Eddie nodded in agreement.
"Sure…" she drawled. Richie typed on his phone again and showed Eddie, a dopey little grin on his face.
Can we do it agin smtime?
"If you learn to spell, maybe." Eddie replied, and gave him a wink. Richie let out a small sigh.
"How long til this shit's out my mouth?" Richie asked.
"So…" Maggie put a hand on Richie's good shoulder. "A lot happened on the inside, Richie." He raised an eyebrow at her. "When you're a little more… sane, I'll get into the nitty gritty details, but… you're a lucky boy." She gave him a small smile. "You're so strong, all things considered."
"You're a fighter." Stan said. "If I were in your position, I don't think I'd make it." Richie glared at him.
"Bullshit, mother fucker." Stan chuckled.
"Really, Rich. You've got what, like fifty staples in you right now." Richie made a face and looked at his mom, who nodded.
"Well fuck."
"But the point is, you were in a real mess." Maggie told him, taking a wet rag and wiping at his face. He didn't complain. "Before the surgery, you were having trouble breathing. Do you remember?" He nodded. "One of your lungs collapsed. And obviously, in surgery they've got to help you breathe because of anesthesia, and then they had to sedate you and… you can't really breathe on your own right now. You can, but it'd be really hard and would be very painful, according to what one of the nurses told me."
"Wow. He really fucked me up."
"He did. And I want you to know that your dad went and beat the shit out of his dad."
"Go dad."
"Do you know if they even got Henry in custody yet?" Bev asked.
"That's why Went left." Maggie explained. "He got a call and Henry is currently sitting in a jail cell with a broken nose, black eye and a fat lip."
"Do you remember anything from what happened, Richie?" Eddie asked. Richie started typing on his phone. Instead of letting it speak for him, he handed it to Stan to le thim read it out.
"I remember sitting at the playground down the street from Eddie's house, and there were like, rabbits or something, playing and I was recording them, and then Henry started talking shit and I talked shit right back. I put my phone on the ground, still recording but the screen was black. It probably stopped on it's own but it might have gotten some stuff." Stan read, and gave Richie his phone back.
"Are you okay with us listening to it?" Maggie asked. Richie shrugged and grimaced. "Are you okay?" she asked quickly. He nodded and typed,
My shoulder is kind of sore but I'm okay.
"Do you want me to get a nurse?" she asked. He shook his head. "Are you sure?" He nodded. He messed with his phone for a few seconds and turned the volume up, and then held his phone out to them. Maggie and Bev moved to the other side and Eddie held the phone, and they looked at it over his shoulder. Eddie pressed play.
Richie's face showed on the screen, red and blotchy. He'd been crying.
"Oh shit, that's me." he muttered and quickly turned the camera.
The four laughed a little at that.
For about thirty seconds, all there was was the rabbits, and suddenly, Henry's voice could be heard.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Why up so early on Christmas Eve, Bucky?"
Richie let out a sigh and put his phone on the ground, the screen going black but the audio could be heard.
They listened to it and when the part where Henry called him a fag and Richie pretty much admitted to it, Richie snatched the phone from Eddie and stopped it.
"That wasn't all, Richie." Maggie said, confused. He just shook his head again.
"Can you and Stan step out for a minute?" Eddie asked the two.
"Why?" Stan asked.
"We need to talk to Richie for a minute. It won't take long." Bev told them. Stan raised his brows but nodded. Richie wouldn't look at them. Maggie sighed, and she and Stan walked out of the room. Bev and Eddie stood on either side of Richie, who wouldn't look at them.
"Chee… not to burst your bubble but… you definitely just made it obvious that you were gay- bi, but they don't know that." Richie lifted his eyes and glared at him. "You did! But Richie, I'm the gayest mother fucker in this town. Our friends, and your parents accept me. They'll accept you too. And they won't be mad at you for "lying" because you're not lying."
"I mean come on, Rich, we didn't know Stan was gay until he and Bill got caught making out. He wasn't exactly ready to tell everyone else just yet but he didn't think he was lying." Bev told him.
"It's a normal thing to be scared, Chee." Eddie said, "Not many people around here are accepting, but we are. All of us are. We love you for you, and no one will be mad at you. If you were to tell Stan and Maggie when they come back in, I'm one hundred percent sure they'd hug you and tell you they love you."
"Are you positive?" Richie asked. Eddie damn near wanted to cry because of how Richie looked up at him.
"Completely. I promise, Chee." Eddie leaned down and pressed a kiss to the corner of Richie's mouth. Bev let out a tiny squeal and they looked at her, Eddie's eyebrows raised and Richie with a tired grin.
"I'm sorry, you two are so much cuter than I thought you'd be." Eddie rolled his eyes at that and turned back to Richie.
"Do you want to tell them?" he asked. Richie nodded, but typed on his phone.
"Will you tell them? I don't want it to come from this fucking thing."
"Are you sure?" Eddie asked. Richie nodded again. Bev went to the door and opened it, looking to see if the two were outside, and they were a few feet away, talking. She motioned for them to come back in. They did, and didn't say anything, waiting for someone to speak.
"So… Richie has something he wants me to tell you, because he doesn't wanna tell you through the phone." Eddie started.
"Okay…" Maggie raised an eyebrow and Stan crossed his arms.
"He is convinced that you're going to be mad at him, because he feels like he's been lying to you, but I wouldn't count this as a lie."
"You didn't have to say all that now." Richie said. Eddie looked back at him and he gave him a look. Eddie chuckled and shrugged. The highly drugged teen closed his eyes as Eddie told them.
"Oh well. Anyways, Richie is bisexual."
"That's it?" Stan asked, letting his arms fall to his sides. "Is that what you were talking about when you said you were the biggest liar?" Richie peeked an eye open and looked at them. They didn't look mad.
"Goddammit, Richie." Maggie huffed. "I thought it was actually something bad!"
"What?" he typed. "And yeah Stanford."
"That is not my name."
"Autocorrect."
"You two aren't mad at him, are you?" Bev asked.
"Hell no. Richie, Sweetie, I don't give two shits about who you love, boys, girls or both. As long as you're happy, that's all that really matters."
"I'm a little irritated that I'm just now finding this out, all things considered." Stan said, "But I'm not angry at you."
Richie smiled, relief obvious in his features.
"Thank you." he typed. Maggie kissed him on the forehead, resting her head on top of his for a moment.
"I love you, baby. And you're dad loves you. All of us do. And he won't be mad, I promise." Richie nodded, closing his eyes.
Bev's phone went off a few times and she looked at it, seeing the other three boys in the waiting room had spammed the group chat wondering when they could come see Richie.
"Hey, Rich?" Bev asked quietly. He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Mike, Bill and Ben really want to see you. Do you want to nap first or let them come see you? We'd have to leave for them to come back."
"Only four people can be back here at a time." Eddie added. He closed his eyes again for a second, before typing again.
"Are you staying at hospital?" he asked.
"If you want us to, we sure damn will. I know I'm not going anywhere." Stan said. "I may not be able to stay with you the whole time I'm here, but I'm not leaving. I want to talk to the doctor myself." Richie smiled a little at that.
"You don't have to stay all day. You can go home. We can text in chat."
"He's right, you shouldn't stay all day. He's probably gonna pass right back out after the other three see him." Maggie said. "They're giving him another dose of his meds in like thirty minutes, according to that chart."
There was a chart with the nurses name, a medicine schedule underneath it.
"True. Well, Richie, I'm staying as long as your parents are staying, obviously." Bev told him, holding his hand. "But I'm going to sit in the waiting room down the hall, okay? I saw it on the way here." Bev told the others. They all nodded. "I'll see you later, Sweets." she kissed the top of his head and stood by the door, waiting for Stan and Eddie. They said their goodbyes, and when no one was looking, Eddie quickly kissed Richie's cheek, before rushing out of the room. While the three made their way to the waiting room, Maggie went to the sink and cleaned the rag from early out, squeezing the water out and going back over to Richie and started wiping gently at his face. He closed his eyes as she did so, relaxing just a bit. She spotted some dried blood near his ear, close to his hairline and went for it as the rest of the Losers walked in.
Ben literally started sobbing the second he saw Richie, so Richie grabbed the rag from his mom and threw it at Ben's head.
